Europe's female representative on FIFA's ruling council said that one of her missions is to eradicate a "stupid cliche" about women "looking like false men playing football or lesbian," according to the AP. Evelina Christillin, a veteran Italian sports exec, "was elected unopposed on Wednesday by the UEFA Congress to assume one of six new guaranteed FIFA leadership roles for women in a drive for greater gender equality in the male-dominated sport." Asked about changing women's football, Christillin said, "It's very important because I hate this stupid cliche about women looking like false men playing football or lesbian or whatever it is. I think female football is a wonderful sport. They are wonderful athletes and so they have to be respected and possibly paid not as much as men but at least recognized, honored and praised." That "means narrowing the disparities between the men's and women's game." While FIFA gave out $576M in prize money at the last men's World Cup in '14, the global governing body awarded $15M "at last year's Women's World Cup." Christillin said, "We have to work to improve and to boost these conditions both financially and sporting (for women). The same prize (money) would be difficult at the very beginning but little by little I think that this can be." The largesse around FIFA "sits uncomfortably with Christillin, who worked on Turin's 2006 Olympic bid before being a top official on the Winter Olympics." She said, "I think many things have to be changed in terms of a moral way of living, less money for the executives, more money for building facilities and restructuring the ones deserving it" (AP, 9/15).
